


with all your vibrant youth

by voodoochild



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: First Meetings, Pack Bonding, Pack Building, Pack Dynamics, Psychic Wolves, Telepathic Bond, shotzi is the new kid at the pc, the era is the strongest established pack, there is totally something in the water at the pc because look at all these wolfsiblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:14:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29441730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voodoochild/pseuds/voodoochild
Summary: Getting hired by NXT and training at the PC is the dream, right? For Shotzi and Punk, it's the beginning of a crash course in wolfbonds, pack dynamics, and finding their own way. [Fusion with Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette's Iskryne Series, "A Companion to Wolves".]
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2
Collections: Psychic Wolves for Lupercalia





	with all your vibrant youth

**Author's Note:**

> Psychic Wolves is back y'all, and I am back to continue this universe where there's something in the water at the PC, facilitating many more wolfbonds than would be normal. I couldn't resist giving Shotzi and Ember and Shayna the wolves they deserve, or making the Era boys the alpha pack. Apologies for the use of Shotzi's wallet-name, something I don't normally do, but there's only so far you can stretch kayfabe.
> 
> Title from Florence and the Machine's "Hunger".

It's day one at the PC, and Punk won't get out of the truck.

_[Noooooo Ash-sister no, don't wanna!]_

She sighs, crouching down by the open door to try and coax her wolf out. "Punk, c'mon, it's our first day, we've gotta be on time. You loved when we trained at the dojo and at the Evolve camp. Everyone spoiled you."

Punk hides his nose in his paws, whining. His tail is tucked in, and he's only a year old, but he's still big enough to stretch across most of the front seat of her truck. His voice and scentmark comes through the bond shyly, because he's still getting the hang of translating it for her. Grass-cayenne, a tongue licking gently at the scruff of their neck, and her own strawberry-explosion in the background, reassuring to him.

_[Dojo smelled good. Lots of people to play with. No other wolves there, but there's a big pack here. Can smell them . . . they won't like me.]_

"Yeah, there is. But you don't know that, Punk, they're supposed to be really nice. They're gonna help us with the bond."

Punk whines loudly. _[Can't we go back to the small training-place? This is too big!]_

"We graduated. This is better, I'm better," she explains, stroking down his ears the way he likes. "It only feels big and scary because it's new."

She hopes she can coax him through the door, at the very least. They're not late yet, but if he keeps hiding in the truck, they will be. Checking her phone, she wonders if it'd be weird to text Hunter, or one of the trainers. Let them know what's going on, but then someone clears their throat behind her.

"Hey guys, everything all right?"

It's Hunter, with Roddy and his wolf hanging back a bit. She remembers watching Roddy in Ring of Honor, the huge grey wolfbrother at his side, and she doesn't know much about the wolf dynamics of his pack, but Roddy's wolf screams alpha, even if he himself doesn't.

"Hi, sorry," she says, apologizing. Her hood slips down, letting her green hair blow in the breeze. "Punk's really shy - he's never been anywhere bigger than the Evolve gym."

"Don't worry about it, you're not late. Hey buddy," Hunter says to Punk, reaching out an arm toward the wolf. "You remember me. Can you smell the PC on me? I promise it's not scary."

 _[Boss-human, yes. I remember.]_ Punk reaches out his neck, a little, and quickly sniffs at Hunter's fingers. _[So many people! Lots of packscents, three small packscents and a big packscent too - oh. Alpha?]_

Roddy's wolf makes a low, calming growl, circling wide to show Punk he doesn't mean any harm. Sits on his haunches by Ashley, and tilts his head up.

_[Alpha. Hello, new-sister and brother.]_

His voice and scent come through so effortlessly - rain-tangerine-Cedrick - and Ashley looks over at Roddy. 

"Hey, I’m Ashley. Or Shotzi, I don't care. I've never actually been around a pack before, so I don’t know how to do the mind-speaking thing. How do I greet him?"

"Let him get your scent, then he'll warm up to you." Roddy grins, reaching down to rub Cedrick behind the ears. "He can be a little standoffish sometimes, but it's because we take pack seriously. The packsense will develop over time, and then you’ll be able to answer him."

She stretches out her hand cautiously, and while Punk growls in displeasure, Cedrick doesn't seem to be upset. He stretches his nose out and inhales her scent, commenting _[oh, interesting, strawberries make my nose itch but your scent doesn't]_ and delicately scenting at the underside of her wrist. Marking her as under the protection of the pack, and Punk amps up his growl.

_[My sister! Mine! You have a brother.]_

Cedrick lunges, snapping his jaws at the scruff of Punk's neck and dragging him out of the truck. 

_[You're being a brat. You've never had a pack, little pup, so I'm not angry, but you need to learn how we work.]_

Punk lowers his nose to the ground, seemingly contrite. She thought she'd be nervous, seeing other wolves around Punk - wolves that would be more dominant to him, and in extension, to her. But it's really just natural.

"I'm sorry-" she starts, but Roddy claps a hand onto her shoulder.

"Don't apologize. He's still a pup and you won't be the first new-bonded pair we've worked with - ask Ember and Ori. Our pack is here to help. You can ask me or any of the guys for anything. If you think you’ll be more comfortable talking to the girls, I’ll introduce you to Shayna and her pack."

“Yeah, I’m not sure that would be good,” she says, because she maybe threw a couple of stiff shots at Shayna and Jessamyn in their last PCW match, but she doesn’t want to admit that in front of Hunter.

She watches Cedrick nose at Punk, grooming his fur and letting Punk play-nip at his muzzle. Her wolfbrother seems to be much more comfortable - which is nice, her stomach is unknotting and she can breathe a little easier - and Hunter clears his throat, addressing her and Roddy.

"Ashley, we have paperwork to sign and your physical to get out of the way, but Roddy says it'd be better to let you and Punk settle in with the pack. You're good with that?"

"Sure," she answers. "I, uh, guess you'll find me when you need that stuff done?"

Hunter laughs. "If I don't, I'm sure Cedrick will remind me."

 _[You need a wolfsibling, Boss. Keep up with all the pack work for you.]_ Cedrick says, and Ashley is amused at the tone. Very dry, not like Roddy at all. She thinks Cedrick is probably a lot more serious than his human brother. _[Let's go, new-sister. Come along, pup, or I'll carry you.]_

 _[I can walk!]_ Punk protests, and the two wolves lead the way into the PC, barking and nipping at each other. 

The PC is a lot bigger than it looks on TV, and Ashley thinks she'll get lost in all these twists and turns. They walk through hallways of classrooms and down staircases, through studios and even the ring room. Hunter leaves them in the ring room, heading for a staircase that looks like it leads to an office.

"Yeah, Hunter's office is up there. The nannycam story is real, by the way, so you should be aware he's pretty much always tuned-in to anything happening in the ring room." Roddy slows his pace a little, lets the wolves get on ahead. He looks down at her. "Don't worry about getting lost, it happens to everyone. I've been here two years and I'm still not 100% sure where all the conference rooms are."

It's all just really overwhelming. They're skirting the edges of a large training room, workout equipment packed into it, a dozen wrestlers working with medicine balls and sledgehammers and four people on treadmills and two women kicking the crap out of heavy bags while a wolf lazes in one corner and oh *shit* that's Shawn Michaels on a weight bench. She can smell sweat and Icy-Hot and old cigarette smoke, all at once, and her nose itches badly. Someone closes a careful hand around her wrist, and it's Roddy. There's a weird pulse in the packsense, clean tangerine-rain scent in the back of her nose, but it does help her calm down.

"Sorry, I-"

"Hey, it's all right. You're all right." Roddy amps up the calming, protective scent, and she gulps it in like air. "I got you. It's a lot, I remember. This place is insane at the beginning. Let's get out of the middle of this."

He leads her to a door, and the hallway beyond it has Punk chasing Cedrick's tail and absolutely no one else to worry about. Roddy lets her lean against the wall for a bit, slides down it to crouch beside her and put a hand to the back of her neck. It shouldn't feel as comforting as it does, and she says so.

"What do you know about being in a pack, Ash?" She tilts her head, confused, and he continues. "Seriously, tell me what you know about it."

"I . . . it's like a family? At least that's what I've heard. I worked with Tim Thatcher for a while at All Pro, and he had a brother and a pack back in Germany. He said it's like the annoying and loving family you don't ask for, but get anyway. It sounds kinda nice, really."

Roddy nods. "That's part of it. Yeah, packs are definitely like family - you all spend 24/7 with each other, and your wolves might form bonds that you don't expect. That can happen. But there's more to it. When humans form a packbond, their senses become heightened. More wolflike. Did you notice that when you were in the weight room, you could barely concentrate, because of all the people and smells and sounds, but now, you're fine?"

She registers her slowed heartbeat, her loose shoulders. If she concentrates, she thinks she can hear people in other rooms. It’s trippy, but cool at the same time.

"Is someone humming Metallica?" she asks, and Roddy laughs.

"Around the next corner, two rooms down. Sounds like Tommaso. That's good that you were able to pick that out, this early. It means you'll be able to adjust." He sticks two fingers in his mouth and whistles, Cedrick's head whipping around at the end of the hallway to look at his brother. _[Take Punk down to the den. And please don't let Russ torture him too much.]_

_[I'll take him down, but I promise nothing when it comes to that menace. C'mon pup, you're going to meet your packmates.]_

_[New pack?! Yes yes yes, yes good, is Ash-sister coming?]_

_[She'll stay with my brother. Don't worry, we'll teach you how to call to her, so you don't have to stay together all the time.]_

_[Ash-sister?]_

She smiles. _[Go with Cedrick, Punkie. You're safe with him, and I'm fine here. Be good with your new packmates.]_

Cedrick pushes a door open with his nose, nudging Punk into the stairwell and yipping at her and Roddy. She studies the door in confusion, then laughs at the sight of the touchpad. It's surprising that the PC has taken trellwolves into consideration.

"Where are they going?" she asks Roddy.

"The den is in the basement," he responds, sitting back against the wall next to her. "It's reinforced - keeps warmth and packscent in, keeps everything else out. We're allowed in there, but almost no one else is. Gets a little crowded with both us and the wolves, but sometimes it's nice after a hard match, or when we've all been separated for a while."

"Are you going to take me there too?"

"Later, if you want. I was actually taking you to our other hideaway - it's more human-friendly. The den is, uh, small. Primitive. Lots of fur and scent. We have an office on the first floor we've converted. It's basically a lounge, couches and pillows and a couple TVs. Stereo and computer setup. It freaks out the humans much less than the den does."

Ashley nods, stretching out her feet onto the hallway tile. "I read about that. One of the doctors gave me a book, _Potential and Common Wolfsibling Bond Effects_ or something boring like that. It talked about the need to create a den. Punk ripped apart my closet and stole all my old blankets to make ours at home."

"Ooh, yeah, that happens. Thankfully, Ced's long past his days of aggressively nesting anywhere he wants."

"How long have you two been bonded?"

Roddy rolls his eyes. "Forever. I think I was around your age. I'd been wrestling for about eight years, was used to being on my own, and here comes this enormous trellwolf deciding to be my sibling. Ring of Honor had a bunch of wolfsiblings, so I wasn't the only one, but not many of them were alpha males. We had a lot of betas - Rangi and Steven and Generico - even a couple of omegas like Cerise."

She’s never met Bryan Danielson and his brother Steven, or Jimmy Jacobs and his sister Cerise, but she's always been a big fan of Samoa Joe and his brother Rangi, and anyone who ever worked an indy show knew about Steen and Sami and Generico. But man, she can't imagine being older and established and *then* getting a wolfsibling. She supposes it's not unheard of, look at Rollins and Avery, but it's crazy to know Roddy's been in her shoes.

"I want to meet the rest of the pack," she says, eventually.

"Okay."

"But I also want to sit here for a couple minutes. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, of course. I guess Tommaso's voice doesn't completely suck to listen to for a while."

Her amusement bursts into the new bond like an explosion, but she's always been like that. Strawberry bomb. She can feel Roddy's tangerine scent pattering down the connection, like a gentle rainfall. There are other scents hovering around the edges, and she can't quite identify them yet. 

"Too far," Roddy says. "Once we get closer to our territory, you'll be able to pick them out. Do you want to know what you'll scent, once we're closer?"

She shakes her head. "I want to be surprised."

"Fair enough," Roddy responds, smiling.

***

They'd sat in the hallway until the thought of leaving its quiet didn't fill her with dread. Roddy had led her down to a different stairwell and down to the ground floor, exiting to a corridor with only a few rooms. The first one they pass looks like a file room - floor to ceiling cabinets, lots of shelving and boxes - and the second is a fabric workshop for gear. The last door is at the end of the hall, and she can feel an odd sensation as they approach.

"What the hell is that?" she asks.

Roddy slows his pace, turning to her. "What's what?"

She can't explain it, at first. After a few moments, she swallows and lets her packsense fully open. The doctors had called it "unblocking the homo-lupus connection" and recommended a bunch of psychological woo-woo, but she’s kept it simple. She just thinks of it like opening her parents' garage door. It's heavy and old, thick wood, thick enough to keep you safe and keep things out. You have to pull hard with all your strength and then get underneath to push it up, but muscle memory makes it easy. 

When the packsense is open, it's an almost-physical slam of sensation and noise. Voices and growls and laughter and heat and fear and hopefulness, and her strawberry-explosion scent spikes. She sees Roddy attempt to calm her again, but she waves him off, breathes through the strangeness. 

An arm around not-her-waist as she limps on a knee that feels shredded - she's never had a knee injury. 

Three voices in not-her-ear as she punches a heavy bag - she doesn't really do much boxing. 

Not-her-hands washing not-her-hair, feeling exhaustion and fear and anxiety. 

Tangerine-rain-Roddy scent winding its way through other, now distinct scents.

"... Monster? And the woods? Who's that?"

Roddy grins. "Bobby. He’s the energy drink, Ryo brings the pine. Can you get the third part of their scent?"

Syrupy buzzy energy drink and sharp pinecone, what's underneath? Lemon? No, not that tart. Vanilla? Not that bland, but similar.

She shakes her head, and Roddy directs the undertones to her. "Creme brulee."

"Oh. It's weirdly comforting? Like, your scent is clean and refreshing, but his is really nostalgic? Like I'm in high school, running through the woods near my school because I was skipping class, slamming a Monster before throwing on some body spray to hide the weed smell."

"That's a really specific memory," Roddy says, amused. "I wouldn't have bothered to hide the weed smell, because I'd just shower in the locker room before practice. But good, you picked out Bobby. Can you focus on another scent?"

It comes much more quickly, more distinct in the packscent: jalapeno-leather-peanut butter.

"Kyle?"

Roddy nods. "Good guess, but you wrestled on that Pac Northwest tour with us when he was on his raw veggie kick."

"God, that Defy tour. He ate nothing but veggies and peanut butter for a week, I thought someone was going to go nuclear."

"Bobby threw a fit . . . well, Ryo did, really. Same difference."

Bobby's scent is delayed-reaction. You don't realize it until it's surrounded you and thrown you into a sense memory of tackling some jerk into the grass. Kyle's is immediate, finger-prick and blood-scent and her stomach growling. And the last scent is faint, but as she relaxes further and searches for it, it becomes more pronounced.

"So Adam's the chocolate-peppermint-whiskey? God, he even smells amazing, it's really unfair."

Roddy sends over a sensation - oh, she's read about this. Both human and wolf packmates can direct emotions to each other, quick ways of expressing feelings, and it's even weirder than the scents and sounds of the packsense. She tries to concentrate on what he's sending her, but it's like grabbing at smoke. She can't get any of it, and she exhales, frustrated. 

"What was I supposed to feel?"

"Amusement and pride, somewhat. It's hard to name it. I wanted to send you how we felt when Adam and Phoebe bonded, how ridiculously cute they were. She's the most spoiled wolfsister you've ever seen, he buys her everything. She's even got this little thermal blanket she drags everywhere."

And she can get bits of it. The sound of a giggle and a camera clicking. Snuggling by a fire on a chilly morning, a round-eared tan wolf whining about someone else stealing blankets. Red-and-black-and-tan-and-grey wolfpile, the humans making coffee and eggs and an entire pound of bacon that she can almost taste.

_[Ash-sister, where are you?]_

Punk's voice is faint, but present in the packsense. Another voice joins his, this one lower. Female.

_[Roddy-brother, c'mon, we all want to meet our new-sister. Pup is very adorable and we all want to scent Strawberry Bomb.]_

"Ryoko," Roddy explains, sending her an image of Bobby playing tug-of-war with a black alpha wolf. Her eyes are cool blue. "She's been patient, but she is the alpha bitch, and a new packmate to meet is both intriguing and important to her."

"Okay," she answers. "Okay, let's go. I might pass out a little from overload, but I do want to meet all the wolves."

"First, try sending something back to her. Focus on Bobby's scent, but like - change it in your brain to /wolf/ instead."

Fizz on the back of her tongue, pine sharp in her nose, that creme brulee sweetness surrounding everything, and she doesn't chase the thread that feels like male/human. She finds the pinecone wildness, the viciousness inside the scent and thinks _[hello, Ryoko. I'm Ash.]_

She doesn't pass out.

It's just - it's chaotic and *loud* and full of sensation and there are three more voices in her head that weren't there before. And there's Punkie, too, bouncing around like he always does, but there's also so much strangeness. 

_[Hello, Ash. I like your scentname. Strawberries are delicious.]_

_[Ced, tell your brother to stop hogging my sister!]_

_[Is she nice? Pup is a good boy, and he deserves a good sister.]_

_[Will she give me belly rubs? I just want a good belly rub because you're all ignoring me-]_

_[Stop being a brat, Russ, she doesn't have to pet you.]_

_[Ced, did she give you belly rubs, I really want-]_

_[Ugh, you'll scare our new-sister off and Ryo and I deserve more girls around.]_

_[My sister is the *best* sister-] [Nuh-uh, Ember's pretty nice. She even hunts with us.] [She’s okay, but I like Shayna and Isis better-] [Because she spoils you!] [He’s the only one, ew, don’t like them-]_

Snap-click.

Ashley opens her eyes and stares at her wrist. The black band around it hangs loosely.

"Dampening bracelet," Roddy explains. "We use them in the ring, but you looked like you could use one now. It blocks the worst of a packbond for up to 30 minutes."

"That's . . . fuck. Sorry. Fuck."

"Breathe. You can keep this on until you're ready. We can go inside, but uh, you will be tackled and scented to death - they *are*excited to meet you."

She takes a breath. “Okay. That sounds better - having the bracelet just to start. Will - will they be mad? If they can’t hear me in the bond at first?”

Roddy shakes his head and pulls her to her feet, in tandem with him. Crap, she’s really going to need to build up more core strength, that hurt. “They won’t be mad,” he answers, “they’re used to us using the bracelets. Sometimes you just don’t want anyone in your head.”

“You can . . . do that? Block the pack and your wolf out? Won’t it hurt them? Punk gets so upset if he can’t reach me.”

He blinks at her, stares a little bit longer than she thinks he’d meant to. His mouth is downturned, and there’s a tension to his shoulders that hadn’t been there before. She almost apologizes, before he shakes his head.

“Oh, kid. We’re gonna have a long talk about pack boundaries and letting your wolf have too much of you. Punk’s a pup, and you wanna be a good sister, but you have to take care of yourself too.”

***

She does get ambushed by five very affectionate trellwolves, tackled into a pile of blankets on the carpeted floor, and it’s the best kind of overwhelming. There’s a red male wolf with his head and front legs on her chest, and the tan female wolf is lying across her lap. Ryoko, the black female wolf, is licking her face, pushing her nose against Ashley’s neck, and Cedrick is sniffing curiously at her boots. Punk is jumping around, wriggling his way in between the others, barking up a storm. 

She recognizes Punk’s scared-bark, so she slides the bracelet off for a second and reaches out for him. “Hey, Punkie, it’s okay, I’m back, it was just quiet for a little while,” she says, petting his long ears.

_[Don’t like not hearing you! My Ash-sister, mine, you can have a little of her, but not all of her.]_

There’s a flurry of wolfspeak, some she can pick out and some she can’t. She waits it out, but she must look overwhelmed, because she hears someone whistle again - a different whistle than Roddy’s - and it gets more manageable. 

Bobby’s sitting on one of the couches, his feet on the arm, and jerks his chin toward the floor cushions. _[Let her breathe, monsters. You’ll have all the time in the world to get to know her.]_

Wow, that’s weird. She can hear him in her head, this time, smell the creme brulee scent thick and comforting as the wolves back off. The corner of his mouth quirks.

“You’re getting it. Sound is one part, scent is another, emotion is the third. Roddy said you adapted fast.”

“I needed the bracelet-”

Kyle laughs from where he’s flopped on a giant beanbag, shoving Roddy’s feet off his shoulder and petting Ryoko's head as she curls up next to him. “Nah, you’re a badass, Shotz. Adam swooned like a Disney princess when we first introduced him to packsense-”

“Hey, fuck you, not everybody can deal with you nutcases in their heads at the same time as a couple of very loud wolves.” Adam is sprawled in a gaming chair, controller still in hand as he gestures wildly. His hair is doing some epic fluff thing in a purple scrunchie. “Ignore him and his dumb wolf, they’re the worst-”

 _[Not so dumb when your bitch is in heat-]_ comes the answer from the red wolf. Oh, he even sounds like Kyle, it’s kind of funny. His ears perk up, and he bounds over to Ashley. _[Ooh, new-sister can hear me. Hi Strawberry Bomb hi, I’m Russ.]_

He pushes his nose between her palms, and whines happily as she scratches at his ruff. He’s smaller than Cedrick, about Ryoko’s size, but still immense compared to Punk.

“Oh god, you pet him. You’re never getting another moment’s peace,” Roddy warns, but Ashley doesn’t mind. She likes how friendly Russ is, the shagginess of his fur. The tan wolf whines and noses at Roddy’s hand, and he strokes her ears back. _[Yes, Phoebe, you can try to talk to her. Remember how it was with Ember, too - she needed some time to understand how to talk in packsense?]_

_[I remember. She’s so colorful! Red-and-green and I like her brother too.]_

Ashley gently shifts Russ over so she can reach out to Phoebe, the tan wolf. _[I love my brother, so I’m happy you like him. He’s very little, so he needs your pack to help him. Just like I need your brothers to help me.]_

 _[I will, new-sister!]_ Phoebe promises, laying her muzzle on Ashley’s thigh. _[And my brother is the best brother, but the others are very good too. They’ll help you. Our pack is the best pack, don’t leave us like Ember did-]_

 _[Pheebs, Ember made her choice.]_ Adam says, all cool peppermint blending with his wolf’s primary note of chocolate. _[She’s happy with Shayna’s pack. We still like her, and if Ashley and Punk want to join a different pack, they’re allowed to.]_

“We are?” she asks aloud, startled. Four pairs of human eyes and five pairs of lupine eyes fix on her, and she blushes. “I mean . . . you guys are *the* pack, I thought it was your choice whether or not we joined you.”

“Welp, that explains why Roddy’s annoyed confusion has been making my skin crawl for the past hour,” Bobby remarks, as Cedrick yowls in displeasure. “You didn’t tell her?”

“I thought she knew!” Roddy protests. “I didn’t know she’d come with all that old-school True Lupine bullshit-”

“Wait, what don’t I-?”

 _[We would never exclude siblings who needed a pack!]_ Cedrick says, earthy and damp rain scent spiking. _[Who told you this, new-sister? I’ll rip their throats out-]_

And she expects Roddy to soothe Cedrick, the way she would for Punk, but it’s Adam who reaches for Cedrick’s muzzle, gently turning his head and rubbing at his nose. All of them are so comfortable around each other’s wolves, Ryoko sprawled in Kyle’s lap getting her ears scratched and Russ having backed off Ashley to lay across Roddy’s feet and Phoebe rolling over between Ashley and Bobby so he can reach down from the couch and rub her belly. 

Punk, of course, wants attention too, and he snaps his teeth at Cedrick. _[Human-mom and dad are trying their best!]_

She tries to explain, in halting, half-comprehensible packsense. _[All we know is books, and lots of books say established packs don’t always accept bonded pairs. And there’s so many siblings here. So we thought you were the same … you know, we’d see if we fit in, but didn’t get our hopes up-]_

 _[What? No, that’s so stupid, Ash-sister,]_ Russ declares, _[it’s always a choice.]_

And there’s a beacon-star of /hope/ and /shock/, she can feel it bloom in the packsense. She knows it’s from her, and she knows the others can feel it. Roddy-and-Ced’s hearts beat /pain/ and /sorry/, Bobby-and-Ryoko howl /safe/, Adam-and-Phoebe wrap everyone in /home/, and Ashley scoops up Punk to try and hold onto the feelings.

“Always,” Kyle says quietly, sitting up. His eyes are so kind, she doesn’t remember him being so nice on any of the indy tours. He grew up a lot in three years. “None of that shit Cornette and his pack used to pull. You’re part of our pack until you don’t want to be, and only you can decide that.”

(She’ll hear it later, how they were all mistreated by the old pack ways. How Roddy and Ced were left out in the cold during the ROH regime change, how no one would give Bobby and Ryo and Kyle and Russ a chance, because one was a sister and the other a beta, how all the doors to all the companies closed to Adam and Phoebe when they bonded.)

“Okay,” she whispers now, crawling over to the pile. She rests her head on Adam’s knee while Punk wiggles his way between Russ and Roddy, and lets the packsense continue to wash over her.

It’s the most peaceful she’s felt since she bonded.

**Author's Note:**

> I was able to finish the first part for the fest this year, but there is definitely more to this story. Thus, the "1/?" for the chapter count. Don't know how long or far this will go, but I hope you'll look forward to the continuation of the story.
> 
> Wolf name meanings, if you're curious:  
> Cedrick = Welsh, "beloved ruler". Also a very deep cut if you follow Roddy's career - he *did* have a wrestling twin named "Cedrick Strong" once upon a time.  
> Russell = French, "red-colored, foxlike". Combined with Ryo's name meaning, yes. Yes, I went there.  
> Ryoko = Japanese, "understanding, dragon". Because I amuse myself.  
> Phoebe = Greek, "shining one". It was always going to be gold-related, and this one fit well.


End file.
